Caxton Associates said its flagship hedge fund fell 3% in July, but was still up more than 3% year-to-date.

The New York-based hedge fund group, in a letter to investors, said the $11 billion Caxton Global Investments, is up 3.21% in 2007, net of fees. Unlike its fellow bad-news headline makers, Caxton’s woes are apparently not linked to sub-prime mortgage: Firm President Peter D’Angelo blamed “reversals in global equity markets” for the fund’s troubles, and wrote that “losses like the above are not unusual for us during periods of major market shifts.”

D’Angelo said he took the “unusual step” of a performance update to combat “the circulation of unfounded rumors in the internet community.” The Wall Street gossip blog DealBreaker reported rumors that Caxton was “blowing up” yesterday, and Forbes magazine’s Web site this morning cited rumors that Caxton “may be in trouble.” In addition, TheStreet.com this afternoon said the firm was selling assets to meet margin calls from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

Editor's Note

In our new section, FINtech Focus, we will profile one of these firms each week. While fintech is a broad category, we will be focusing on firms that specifically cater to the alternative investment industry. Read more…